DESIGNING FOR CARPETS

Southland Times, Issue 23675, 25 November 1938, Page 12

DESIGNING FOR CARPETS

Staff Of' 40 Jn One Factory

ORIGINAL WORK AND COPYING

The work of preparing designs for carpets kept a staff of 40 permanently employed in his firm’s factory, said Mr G. S. Tomkinson, of Kidderminster, England, principal of one. of the biggest carpet-making firms in Britain, in an interview last evening. Twenty of those 40 did original work; the others were copyists. Many of the designs were original, but a big “library” contained reproductions of carpets through the ages from which ideas for Persian reproductions were taken. There was also a big number of designers in England who worked on their own- and sold to the manufacturers, who also bought designs from Paris. Berlin and Amsterdam. Many carpets were produced specially to the design and specification of individual customers. Designs had been taken from wallpapers and even from the back of a playing card. The wallpaper manufacturers also made use of carpet designs. Each country required a different design and the manufacturers had to meet the various needs. For New Zealand the colours had to be very much sharper and clearer than they were in England because of the stronger light here. Carpets had to be coloured specially for the New Zealand market. The fluctuations of the wool market determined the price of carpets, said Mr Tomkinson. Manufacturers were very large users of a certain class of wool; his factory alone handled more than 1000 tons of wool a year and it was not the biggest factory in England. Most of the wool came from the Himalayas and it was blended with Scottish wool. Australian and. New Zealand wool was generally too fine in quality for carpet making. What was required in the trade was a coarse, springy wool which would not. flatten with use. Mr Tomkinson said that he had found business in New Zealand very good and was pleased with the preference shown by importers for British carpets. The percentage oi British carpets taken by New Zealand was much greater than other Dominions imported. But he had noticed that a good deal of low-grade Belgian carpet was being sold and he hoped that British manufacturers would take steps to produce a carpet to meet this competition. Wages in Belgium were about half what they were in Britain. Last evening Mr Tomkinson showed a cinema film of the carpet industry to a number of those interested. The processes with both axminster and chenille carpets was unfolded step by step, the section showing the looms and other machinery in operation being particularly interesting. The film was mostly in colour. Mr J. S. Robbie thanked Mr Tomkinson for showing the film and explaining in detail the various processes.